Hurt
by Omoni
Summary: A little drabble, at the request of a friend. What happens when Lina underestimates danger, and Gourry is the one to take the fall.


_**Writer's Note**__: This is a request for a fellow Slayers fan, pharoah999, under the prompt "Hurt". If you're a fan of my stories, it's usually Lina who takes the fall. This time, I've made it Gourry. Enjoy!_

**WARNING: Contains spoilers for NEXT and TRY. Occurs post-aforementioned, pre-Revolution/Evolution.**

Sometimes, in the darkest hours, Lina wondered if she took Gourry for granted.

This was one of those hours. It was also, she felt, the longest of her life.

It was dark within the small healer's alcove. She sat on a worn and old wicker chair, hunched over, her elbows on her knees, her head lowered. Although her eyes were dry, her heart was racing, and she shook a little.

She couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. Of course, she knew what had gone wrong, but it was getting there that seemed to elude her.

It had seemed like a simple plan, really. They had been travelling alone together for a few weeks, and Lina had caught snatches of rumours of a local village that boasted a magical artefact. Both she and Gourry were instantly smitten, especially with the recent loss of his Sword of Light.

It was a simple enough plan, really.

* * *

"Okay," Lina began, rubbing her hands together. They stood just on the outskirts of the village, the small dilapidated place in plain view. "Here's the plan. You sneak into the temple and make a lot of loud outbursts about how you want the artefact. When they're busy arresting you, in the confusion, I'll sneak in and steal it!"

Gourry nodded, then caught himself. "Wait a second," he protested. "If I'm arrested, then what?"

Lina pretended to be confused. "Then what, what?"

"Linaaaa!" Gourry groaned, staggering a little. "If I'm arrested, wouldn't the whole point of going in be pointless?"

"Damn," Lina sighed. "I should have known that some of my intelligence would eventually rub off on you."

Gourry glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lina smiled widely. "Okay, then!" she ploughed on, ignoring his question. "How about you go in, brag about wanting the artefact, and then I swoop in and rescue everyone from you, and while they arrest you, they'll reward me with it as a prize!"

Gourry crossed his arms over his chest and glowered daggers at her.

She winced and gave a small laugh. "Alright, alright. We wait until night, sneak in with you standing guard, and I'll go in and take a look at it to see if it's something we want." She held up her hands. "Fair?"

He considered it for a moment. When Lina was about to smack him in order to reset his brain, he nodded. "Fair," he agreed.

"Let's go!"

* * *

Lina now sighed, looking up and threading her fingers together. She rested her chin on them, staring at nothing. If she had known what was going to happen, she wouldn't have bothered. She would have turned around and left. But then, she had no way of knowing that what had happened would happen.

It had started out perfectly. She had managed to slip in unnoticed through an unguarded window, and Gourry had stood calmly by, his sword out and ready to defend if need be. She had snuck her way into the temple and found the artefact…only to discover that it was something they _definitely did not want. _

* * *

Lina stared, her eyes wide. Her gloved hands stopped short of the object below her, and she could feel her cheeks burning bright red underneath the black cloth.

It glittered. It sparkled. It exuded a fair amount of magical properties. But it was listed high up on the list of Lina's personal "_do not want EVER_" list.

She slammed the lid closed and winced, uttering a choice curse. She shut her eyes, trying to unsee what she had just seen, but was no use. It was burned into her memory.

Quickly, she turned from the chest and hot-footed it back from where she came, her footfalls silent on the marble floors. Gourry had laughed, but going without shoes and wearing only socks had been a good idea.

However, when she was only a few feet away from the window, she felt a flash of bloodlust coming from behind her, and she threw herself down onto the ground. Something huge, and hot, flew over her, and she covered her head, uttering a shocked yelp.

Quickly, Lina scrambled to her feet, turning in the direction that the shot came from. She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus, but could only catch a vague outline of a figure a few yards away.

It was enough.

With hurried terseness, she chanted a spell as fast as she could. When she was near the end, she felt another onslaught of rising bloodlust, but she was faster. With a shout, she unleashed the Damu Brass towards the figure.

The spell hit, and briefly the small temple room was illuminated by the light of the pentagram. If she concentrated, she could see that he figure before her was tall and female, and cloaked in black like herself.

There was a curt shout, and suddenly the spell shattered into nothing. From the amount of bloodlust she had felt, Lina had to admit that she wasn't completely surprised, but it irked her all the same.

"Mazoku," she muttered.

The woman tittered a little. "Oh, is it that obvious?" she wondered in reply.

"Don't tell me, let me guess: You're here to kill me."

"Oh, no, nothing so specific," the Mazoku replied. In the dim light, Lina could see the woman's form changing, lengthening, into what was obviously her true form. "I was hired to protect the artefact from theft."

Lina couldn't help it. She gaped in disbelief. "Hired. To protect _that thing_," she sputtered. "Who would want to keep something like that so badly?!"

"Alright, to their credit, they don't actually know I'm a Mazoku," the woman admitted. "But the item is actually very powerful, despite its…look."

Lina shuddered. "But I don't even want it!" she protested, throwing up her hands. "I didn't even take it!"

The Mazoku shrugged. "I was hired to protect it. They never specified to what degree."

"Ugh, that's sick," Lina spat. "I'm gone." She turned on her heel and dashed towards the window. Behind her, she could feel the bloodlust return, and she dove for the open window, barely missing getting barbecued. She slid through it and landed on the ground before Gourry in a heap.

"Not what you wanted?" Gourry wondered, his eyes wide with bemusement.

"Hell no!" she exclaimed. She got to her feet and grabbed his hand. "RUN!"

They managed a few steps before the entire wall behind them exploded outwards, reduced to rubble in a flash. The shockwave caught them and threw them off their feet. Lina crashed a few feet away, and found that her hand was empty. She looked up, wheezing a little from the hit, and froze.

Her blood turned to ice.

When had it happened? She thought in a detached manner. When had it happened?

Gourry had landed a few feet away, but he had landed badly. From what she could see, in her now-blurred vision, he had gotten burned by the shockwave. He was out cold, and his back was a mess of burns and cuts. He wasn't moving.

Lina's throat closed up, and her vision was suddenly lined with red. She inhaled sharply, then exhaled, the sound more like a kitten's mewl.

_Gourry's hurt…I have to help him…but…but!_

She felt the familiar bloodlust behind her, and for some reason, it gave her strength. She could barely feel the hot tears running down her cheeks, could hardly feel herself shaking with rage and fear.

All she felt was that bite of rage.

She held out her hands, pointed them forwards, and screamed out.

* * *

Lina closed her eyes. She could barely remember what happened after that. It was all a haze of red and fury. She could barely even remember getting him here, to the small healer's hut. All she remembered was that she was so glad that healers never asked questions.

And now, she was waiting. Waiting for the results. Waiting for some kind of news. She hadn't heard anything in over an hour, and she was getting more and more restless. Her shaking hadn't stopped, and with each minute, she could feel it increasing. But she didn't move, didn't speak. She just sat, waiting, wishing she could have done something. Wishing that she could turn back the clock.

"Miss?"

Lina jerked her head up, getting to her feet a second later. She was in front of the healer instantly, who was just coming out of the room where she knew Gourry lay. She opened her mouth, but the healer beat her to it. "He's fine."

_He's fine._

Lina sagged, her eyes filling without her control. "You sure?" she whispered, her eyes searching the healer's with desperation. When he nodded, Lina covered her face wit her hands. She heard herself uttering pathetic, disjointed cries, but at the moment, she didn't care.

_He's fine…_

* * *

When she had calmed down, Lina snuck into Gourry's room when the healer wasn't looking. He had basically tried to stonewall her earlier, stating that Gourry was still rather weak, but she didn't care. She closed the door behind her and locked it for good measure, then walked over to the cot.

Gourry lay curled up on his side, his back to her. He wore slightly faded robes, ones that were a little too small for his large frame. He snored a little, but it was soft snoring, not at all like his usual, obnoxious, snoring.

Carefully, she sat down on the bed next to him, right up close to were his legs curled. She hesitated, especially when she heard the snoring cease, but then she leaned down and rested her head on his hip.

A hand reached down and touched her hair. She looked up, and saw that Gourry had turned a little to face her. His eyes were a little dull, but he smiled. She felt her own eyes burn, and with quick moves, she sat up and tackled him, hugging him tightly around his neck and burying her face into his neck.

He rolled onto his back and held her close, rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

"You stupid idiot," she spluttered into his hair. "I _hate_ you. Don't do that _ever_ again, or I'll _kill you six times over_!"

Gourry said nothing. He pulled her closer and rested his head on hers, giving her a light kiss. There was nothing else to be said.


End file.
